Detection Device and Detection Method

The invention relates in general to a detection device, and more particularly, it relates to a detection device and a detection method thereof.

Physiological signal detection devices are commonly used detection components. However, when being applied in the field of VR (Virtual Reality) or AR (Augmented Reality), the detection accuracy of a conventional physiological signal detection device is usually not high enough. Accordingly, there is a need to propose a novel solution for solving the problem of the prior art.

In an exemplary embodiment, the invention is directed to a detection device for detecting a human body portion. The detection device includes a sound generator, an optical transmitter, a compound waveguide, an optical receiver, a processor, and a housing element. The sound generator generates a sound signal. The optical transmitter generates an incident light signal. The compound waveguide transmits the sound signal and the incident light signal to the human body portion. Thus, the human body portion transmits a reflected light signal back to the compound waveguide. The compound waveguide further generates a mixed light signal according to the incident light signal and the reflected light signal. The optical receiver receives the mixed light signal. The processor is coupled to the optical receiver. The processor obtains the physiological information of the human body portion according to the mixed light signal. The sound generator, the optical transmitter, the compound waveguide, the optical receiver, and the processor are all disposed inside the housing element.

In some embodiments, the detection device is a wearable device.

In some embodiments, the wearable device is a headphone device.

In some embodiments, the human body portion is an eardrum.

In some embodiments, the incident light signal, the reflected light signal, and the mixed light signal are IR (Infrared) signals.

In some embodiments, the compound waveguide includes a sound waveguide and a light waveguide.

In some embodiments, the light waveguide is surrounded by the sound waveguide.

In some embodiments, in the compound waveguide, a self-mixing effect is induced between the incident light signal and the reflected light signal, so as to form the mixed light signal.

In some embodiments, the detection device further includes a converter coupled between the optical receiver and the processor. The converter outputs a main signal to the processor according to the mixed light signal.

In some embodiments, the housing element is a headphone housing.

In some embodiments, the optical transmitter uses a side transmitting mechanism.

In some embodiments, the optical receiver uses a side receiving mechanism.

In another exemplary embodiment, the invention is directed to a detection method that includes the steps of: generating a sound signal; generating an incident light signal; transmitting the sound signal and the incident light signal to a human body portion by a compound waveguide, such that the human body portion transmits a reflected light signal back to the compound waveguide; generating a mixed light signal by the compound waveguide according to the incident light signal and the reflected light signal; receiving the mixed light signal; and obtaining physiological information of the human body portion according to the mixed light signal.

In some embodiments, the detection method further includes: outputting a main signal by a converter according to the mixed light signal.

In some embodiments, the detection method further includes: using a side transmitting mechanism to transmit the incident light signal; and using a side receiving mechanism to receive the mixed light signal.

In order to illustrate the foregoing and other purposes, features and advantages of the invention, the embodiments and figures of the invention will be described in detail as follows.

Certain terms are used throughout the description and following claims to refer to particular components. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, manufacturers may refer to a component by different names. This document does not intend to distinguish between components that differ in name but not function. In the following description and in the claims, the terms “include” and “comprise” are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean “include, but not limited to . . . ”. The term “substantially” means the value is within an acceptable error range. One skilled in the art can solve the technical problem within a predetermined error range and achieve the proposed technical performance. Also, the term “couple” is intended to mean either an indirect or direct electrical connection. Accordingly, if one device is coupled to another device, that connection may be through a direct electrical connection, or through an indirect electrical connection via other devices and connections.

The following disclosure provides many different embodiments, or examples, for implementing different features of the subject matter provided. Specific examples of components and arrangements are described below to simplify the present disclosure. These are, of course, merely examples and are not intended to be limiting. For example, the formation of a first feature over or on a second feature in the description that follows may include embodiments in which the first and second features are formed in direct contact, and may also include embodiments in which additional features may be formed between the first and second features, such that the first and second features may not be in direct contact. In addition, the present disclosure may repeat reference numerals and/or letters in the various examples. This repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationship between the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed.

Further, spatially relative terms, such as “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. The spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. The apparatus may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein may likewise be interpreted accordingly.

1 FIG. 1 FIG. 1 FIG. 100 100 100 110 120 130 140 150 160 100 is a diagram of a detection deviceaccording to an embodiment of the invention. For example, the detection devicemay be a wearable device, which may be applied to the field of VR (Virtual Reality) or AR (Augmented Reality), but it is not limited thereto. In the embodiment of, the detection deviceincludes a sound generator, an optical transmitter, a compound waveguide, an optical receiver, a processor, and a housing element. It should be understood that the detection devicemay further include other components, such as a display device, a speaker, a power supply module and/or a housing, although they are not displayed in.

100 190 190 In some embodiments, the detection deviceis configured to detect a human body portion. For example, the human body portionmay be an ear of a user, but it is not limited thereto.

110 110 The sound generatorgenerates a sound signal SU. For example, the sound generatormay be implemented with a speaker or a sound amplifier, but it is not limited thereto.

120 110 120 140 130 The optical transmittergenerates an incident light signal ST. In some embodiments, the sound generator, the optical transmitter, and the optical receiverare all disposed adjacent to the compound waveguide. It should be noted that the term “adjacent” or “close” over the disclosure means that the distance (spacing) between two corresponding elements is smaller than a predetermined distance (e.g., 10 mm or the shorter), or means that the two corresponding elements directly touch each other (i.e., the aforementioned distance/spacing between them is reduced to 0).

130 130 190 190 130 130 130 For example, the compound waveguidemay be made of two or more different materials. The compound waveguidetransmits the sound signal SU and the incident light signal ST to the human body portion, such that the human body portiontransmits a reflected light signal SR back to the compound waveguide. The compound waveguidefurther generates a mixed light signal SX according to the incident light signal ST and the reflected light signal SR. For some embodiments, in the compound waveguide, a self-mixing effect is induced between the incident light signal ST and the reflected light signal SR, so as to form the mixed light signal SX as mentioned above.

140 120 140 The optical receiverreceives the mixed light signal SX. In some embodiments, the optical transmitteris an IR (Infrared) transmitter, and the optical receiveris an IR receiver. The incident light signal ST, the reflected light signal SR, and the mixed light signal SX may all be IR signals.

150 140 150 190 100 190 The processoris coupled to the optical receiver. The processorcan obtain the physiological information IA of the human body portionaccording to the mixed light signal SX. In some embodiments, the detection deviceuses an SMI (Self-Mixing Interferometry) mechanism to extract the physiological information IA from the human body portion, but it is not limited thereto.

160 160 110 120 130 140 150 160 The shape and type of the housing elementare not limited in the invention. For example, the housing elementmay be made of a nonconductive material. In some embodiments, the sound generator, the optical transmitter, the compound waveguide, the optical receiver, and the processorare all disposed inside the housing element.

190 130 140 150 150 190 100 190 Generally, the reflected light signal SR can record a variety of information relative to the human body portion. After the self-mixing effect is induced between the reflected light signal SR and the incident light signal ST, the compound waveguidecan provide the mixed light signal SX for the optical receiverand the processor. Thus, the processorcan accurately estimate the physiological information IA of the human body portionby analyzing the mixed light signal SX. For example, the aforementioned physiological information IA may include a heart rate, a blood pressure, a respiratory rate, a blood oxygen saturation, and/or a body temperature, but it is not limited thereto. With the design of the invention, the proposed detection devicecan easily perform a non-invasive detection process on the human body portion, and the non-invasive detection process can provide sufficient detection accuracy.

100 The following embodiments will introduce different configurations and detail structural features of the detection device. It should be understood that these figures and descriptions are merely exemplary, rather than limitations of the invention.

2 FIG. 2 FIG. 1 FIG. 2 FIG. 2 FIG. 200 200 200 290 200 210 220 230 240 245 250 260 is a diagram of a detection deviceaccording to an embodiment of the invention.is similar to. In the embodiment of, the detection deviceis a headphone device, and the human body portion detected by the detection deviceis an eardrum. As shown in, the detection deviceincludes a sound generator, an optical transmitter, a compound waveguide, an optical receiver, a converter, a processor, and a housing element.

210 220 230 290 290 230 230 270 280 270 280 280 270 270 280 280 The sound generatorgenerates a sound signal SU. The optical transmittergenerates an incident light signal ST. The compound waveguidetransmits the sound signal SU and the incident light signal ST to the eardrum, such that the eardrumtransmits a reflected light signal SR back to the compound waveguide. Specifically, the compound waveguideincludes a sound waveguideand a light waveguide. The sound waveguideis configured to transmit the sound signal SU. The light waveguideis configured to transmit the incident light signal ST and the reflected light signal SR. For example, the light waveguidemay be surrounded by the sound waveguide. The sound waveguideand the light waveguidemay be made of two different plastic materials. For some embodiments, in the light waveguide, a self-mixing effect is induced between the incident light signal ST and the reflected light signal SR, so as to form a mixed light signal SX.

240 220 240 245 240 250 245 250 245 250 290 The optical receiverreceives the mixed light signal SX. In some embodiments, the optical transmitteruses a side transmitting mechanism, and the optical receiveruses a side receiving mechanism, so as to improve the communication quality of both signal transmission and signal reception. The converteris coupled between the optical receiverand the processor. The converteroutputs a main signal SA to the processoraccording to the mixed light signal SX. For example, the main signal SA may correspond to the main components of the mixed light signal SX. In some embodiments, the converteris implemented with an ADC (Analog-to-Digital Converter). Then, the processorcan obtain the physiological information IA of the eardrumaccording to the main signal SA. For example, the aforementioned physiological information IA may include a heart rate, a blood pressure, a respiratory rate, a blood oxygen saturation, a body temperature, a hearing health index, a stress level, and/or a brain wave, but it is not limited thereto.

260 210 220 230 240 245 250 260 260 230 290 200 290 200 100 2 FIG. 1 FIG. The housing elementmay be a headphone housing. The sound generator, the optical transmitter, the compound waveguide, the optical receiver, the converter, and the processormay all be disposed inside the housing element. In some embodiments, the housing elementsubstantially has a tapered shape to fit a narrow ear canal of a user. For example, there may be a specific distance d between the compound waveguideand the eardrum. According to practical measurements, the proposed detection devicecan perform a non-invasive detection process on the eardrum, so as to accurately collect a variety of information relative to the user. Other features of the detection deviceofare similar to those of the detection deviceof. Accordingly, the two embodiments can achieve similar levels of performance.

200 In some embodiments, the operational principles of the detection devicewill be described according to the following equations (1) to (4):

220 where “T(t)” represents the time function of the incident light signal ST, “R(t)” represents the time function of the reflected light signal SR, “X(t)” represents the time function of the mixed light signal SX, “A(t)” represents the time function of the main signal SA, “θ(t)” represents the time function of phase noise (e.g., the phase noise may result from the non-ideal characteristics of the oscillator of the optical transmitter), “Aθ(t)” represents the time function of the phase noise difference, “t” represents a time variable, “d” represents the specific distance d, “c” represents the speed of light, “π” represents the circumference ratio, “f” represents the frequency of the incident light signal ST, “λ” represents the wavelength of the incident light signal ST, and “M” represents the magnitude of the mixed light signal SX.

3 FIG. 1 2 FIGS.and 3 FIG. 310 320 330 340 350 360 is a flowchart of a detection method according to an embodiment of the invention. To begin, in step S, a sound signal is generated. In step S, an incident light signal is generated. In step S, the sound signal and the incident light signal are transmitted to a human body portion by a compound waveguide. Thus, the human body portion transmits a reflected light signal back to the compound waveguide. In step S, a mixed light signal is generated by the compound waveguide according to the incident light signal and the reflected light signal. In step S, the mixed light signal is received. Finally, in step S, the physiological information of the human body portion is obtained according to the mixed light signal. It should be understood that these steps are not required to be performed in order, and every feature of the embodiments ofmay be applied to the detection method of.

The invention proposed a novel detection device and a novel detection method. In comparison to the conventional design, the invention has at least the advantages of using the non-invasive detection process and improving the overall detection accuracy. Therefore, the invention is suitable for application in a variety of devices.

1 3 FIGS.- 1 3 FIGS.- Note that the above element parameters are not limitations of the invention. A designer can fine-tune these setting values according to different requirements. It should be understood that the detection device and the detection method of the invention are not limited to the configurations of. The invention may include any one or more features of any one or more embodiments of. In other words, not all of the features displayed in the figures should be implemented in the detection device and the detection method of the invention.

The method of the invention, or certain aspects or portions thereof, may take the form of program code (i.e., executable instructions) embodied in tangible media, such as floppy diskettes, CD-ROMS, hard drives, or any other machine-readable storage medium, wherein, when the program code is loaded into and executed by a machine such as a computer, the machine thereby becomes an apparatus for practicing the methods. The methods may also be embodied in the form of program code transmitted over some transmission medium, such as electrical wiring or cabling, through fiber optics, or via any other form of transmission, wherein, when the program code is received and loaded into and executed by a machine such as a computer, the machine becomes an apparatus for practicing the disclosed methods. When implemented on a general-purpose processor, the program code combines with the processor to provide a unique apparatus that operates analogously to application-specific logic circuits.

Use of ordinal terms such as “first”, “second”, “third”, etc., in the claims to modify a claim element does not by itself connote any priority, precedence, or order of one claim element over another or the temporal order in which acts of a method are performed, but are used merely as labels to distinguish one claim element having a certain name from another element having the same name (but for use of the ordinal term) to distinguish the claim elements.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the invention. It is intended that the standard and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope of the disclosed embodiments being indicated by the following claims and their equivalents.